Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe with Black Bean Garlic Marinade

I'm the kind of person who believes in following the spirit of the law, but not necessarily the letter of the law. It's that free-thinking attitude that helps me reason that even though the South Beach Diet recommends avoiding chicken thighs, it's the skin and fat on that part of the chicken that the diet is wanting you to avoid. Therefore, if you'll promise to remove the skin and carefully trim away visible fat, these Roasted Chicken Thighs with Black Bean Garlic Marinade should be a perfectly good South Beach Diet food. I love to buy chicken thighs when they're on special, and for this recipe I used a package of twelve chicken thighs that cost less than $4.00.

When I'm marinating chicken, I also like to trim the pieces so they're nicely shaped and cut little slits lengthwise so the marinade can penetrate. I did that to get the nice looking pieces of chicken you see in these photos. The Asian marinade here was inspired by multi-talented Stefania Pomponi Butler who writes on Family Food about the delicious meals she cooks for her kids. When she posted Chicken Drumsticks Two Ways, I loved the idea of Black Bean Garlic Sauce on chicken, and I had some in the fridge. (Love it when that happens!) Of course, you know how I am; I had to add a few more things. But the Black Bean Garlic Sauce is what lights up these chicken thighs, so thanks to Stefania for the idea.

Remove skin and all the visible fat from chicken thighs, then marinate trimmed chicken thighs for 6-8 hours in the refrigerator. You could trim them the night before, pour the marinade in when you go to work, and let them marinate all day if you wanted.

Arrange thighs on the roasting pan to cook, trying to keep as much of the sauce clinging to the chicken as you can. The thighs are roasted at 325 F for about 50 minutes, and should be brushed with sauce a few times while they're cooking.

Use a sharp knife to remove skin and trim all visible fat from chicken thighs. I also cut off any hanging pieces to make the thighs nicely shaped and cut small slits lengthwise so the marinade will penetrate the meat. Mix marinade ingredients, then put chicken pieces in single layer inside large Ziploc bag, pour marinade in and let marinate for 6 hours or more in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, remove chicken from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature while oven preheats to 325 F. Arrange chicken on roasting pan, keeping as much marinade clinging to the chicken as you can. Roast about 50 minutes, turning several times and brushing with sauce/marinade that collects at the bottom of the pan. Chicken is done when you can cut into a piece and juice runs clear, and when it's firm and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information?
I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.

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I shall agree with using thighs. I feel they have so much more flavor when used in a dish that requires a bit longer cooking. Costco has skinned and boned and they freeze much better than the breasts, so I try to keep them on hand. I wouldn't make soup stock without them.

What a unique marinade. I loooove chicken thigs. I find they are much more moist than chicken breasts. But 4 bucks for 12 thighs....that's awesome! We get atrociously priced halal chicken at my butcher's.

That's interesting piece of drumsticks, Kalyn. There are so many versions of drumsticks in this world I have discovered. And drumsticks are popular amongst children, I wonder why. Love your chicken drums.

Hi Tony,Personally I think the South Beach Diet needs to update their position on fat; most of the recent diet research doesn't limit saturated fat that strictly (if at all). Personally I don't limit fat nearly as much as I used to and I'd eat the chicken with the skin (at least the crispy parts.) But if you want to follow the letter of the law for South Beach, removing the skin would be perfectly fine!

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